MASTERCLASS TERENCE DAVIES
The British filmmaker Terence Davies talked about his remarkable and deeply experiential work during the masterclass he gave on Thursday, November 20th at the John Cassavetes Theater.
The renowned director, scriptwriter, actor and writer, one of the most important personalities of British independent cinema, is honored with a retrospective of his work by the Independence Days section - supported by the British Council.
‘Terence Davies’s work makes him stand out among the contemporary British directors. He thinks in cinematic terms and understands cinema in a unique way. His films are very personal, because he is inspired by his own feelings and represents his own experiences’, said Geoff Andrew, British film critic and co-ordinator of the masterclass.
Terence Davies spoke at first about his latest film Of Time and the City. A documentary about his hometown, Liverpool, Of Time and the City marks his return to filmmaking after 8 years of forced absence due to funding difficulties. ‘If Of Time and the City is my last film, it will be a decent finale. It’s a film made with little funding and humble intentions. However, 87 film festivals have already requested it’.
‘As Liverpool is Cultural Capital of Europe for 2008, the local authorities decided to finance three films about the city. There were 157 films competing and I never believed that my film would be selected, but it was. I have already made some fiction films about Liverpool based on my childhood memories, so I wanted to do something different this time. Using the archives available from the 50’s I wanted to create an unconventional documentary. It’s not an objective representation of that era’, said the British filmmaker.
Although Terence Davies grew up in a strict catholic family, he is now an atheist. He talked about his painful relationship with religion. ‘I was a very devout child. I was convinced that if I lived by the church’s rules I would become holy. I actually believed that any doubt around God’s existence was the devil’s work. However, during my times of despair, I often went to pray, but there was no answer from God to soothe my hopelessness. I felt that I was all alone in an abyss. I wanted to be normal like everybody else, but I wasn’t. There finally came a point when I realized that everything was a lie. It was horrible’, confessed the 63 year old director and added: ‘The belief that God does not exist cost me a lot - I lost some people that were close to me, since I knew that there is no afterlife and I would not see them again. Especially in the case of my mother, which was the love of my life. I would give everything I’ve got just to hear her voice one more time. But I won’t…’
Referring to his autobiographical film The Long Day Closes, Terence Davies talked about discovering his sexual identity: ‘The story of The Long Day Closes is a simple one but an epic one for me personally. My childhood ended when I was 11 and realized that I am a homosexual, a criminal offence those days. I know how it feels to be detested, because it’s something I’ve experienced. That’s why I feel so wonderful when I receive the audience’s approval. I want my films to be honest and real. I am obsessed with the concept of time and how it is being violated in cinema. When a scene is over, what is of importance to me is the feeling that follows and not the plot. I try to have a strong emotional flow in my film’s narrative’. The director also pointed out that he does not watch his old films: “I don’t need to see them again, they are already inside me’.
Discussing his previous film The House of Mirth based on the novel by Edith Wharton, Terence Davies compared the New York society of the late 19th century with the contemporary reality of the American film industry. ‘New York’s society at the end of the 19th century was a very strict one. It is similar to the ritualism and oppression one can detect during a business lunch in Los Angeles among the film industry people. There are so many forbidden things that you are not allowed to do - no-one informs you about them, but you know they exist. You’re not allowed to do small talk or order a drink before lunch because they’re going to think you are an alcoholic. There is no humor. It is a horrible situation, that is not bearable without a drink!’, he joked and added: ‘The same goes for parties, where I stand alone in a corner. All guests look like filmmakers and I look like an accountant! It is scary how superficial are the friendships among people in the American film industry’.
